Carbon Footprint, Energy, News, Sustainability

Carbon Footprint of UK Electricity 2018

Posted on by Circular Ecology
25
Jul
In the world of carbon footprinting, the emissions factors from the UK government are a seminal resource. Each year that they are updated gives new insight into the decarbonising UK electricity supply. The 2018 factors are now available. So, what do the “UK Government greenhouse gas (GHG) conversion factors for company reporting” tell us about the UK’s progress towards decarbonising the national electricity supply? Are the ambitious carbon reductions of UK electricity on track? Or is it yet more disappointment. The latest factors reveal the answers.
​The UK’s GHG emissions factors for company reporting 2018, also known as Defra’s GHG emissions factors by many carbon assessment professionals, show that the UK is still undergoing an impressive decarbonisation of electricity. 

Decarbonising the UK Electricity Supply 

​The GHG factor for electricity in 2016 revealed that the carbon footprint of 1 kWh of electricity was 0.52 kg CO2e. The factor for 2017 was improved to be 0.45 kg CO2e per kWh. The 2018 factors is down again, at 0.35 kg CO2e per kWh. This is a rapid carbon reduction. These are the all scope factors, for those familiar with the World Resource GHG Protocol it is the sum of all 3 scopes.

The emissions factor for electricity breaks down as:

  • Electricity generation: These are the emissions directly at the power station, e.g. from burning natural gas, coal, and other fossil fuels.
  • Transmission and distribution (T&D): The losses in the transmission and distribution network, e.g. cables and sub-stations.
  • Well to tank (WTT) of fuel generation: The WTT emissions are the upstream emissions of fuel extraction, processing and transport.
  • Well to tank of transmission and distribution: This accounts for the fuel extraction, processing and transport emissions of the energy lost through the distribution network.

In the period of 1 year, the UK’s carbon footprint of a unit of electricity reduced by almost 21%, a particularly impressive year on year reduction.

Likewise, the reduction from 2016 to 2017 was a 14% reduction in the carbon footprint of a unit of electricity. These are impressive reductions and will surely help the UK to meet the legally binding GHG emission reduction targets. However, can such impressive carbon reductions be sustained when the 2019 factors come out?

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Key Reference:
The UK’s GHG emission factors for company reporting 2018 can be downloaded at the Government’s website, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conversion-factors-2018

Circular Ecology

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